Where, in the hollow
Of the mountain,
Xyntli’s sleeping.
—and then to see that the forest actually is marching up the sides of her own fortress! Wouldn’t that be discouraging?
“But Xyntli is not discouraged. Not she! She calls up her fiery snakes from below, and sends them crawling down the sides of the mountain, while she stands on the top, waving her wonderful smoky veil, and urging them on.
“Down they glide,—filling up the channels the streams have dug, hissing with hatred as they swallow the streams themselves, and devouring the advancing forest.
“At last the mountain stands once more, smooth and polished—the green army driven back to the valley.
“Then Xyntli is satisfied, and cuddles down in her hollow for another nap.
“It was during one of these naps—after it had lasted a very long time—that the Bee Baby was born.
“Year after year, the forest had marched steadily on; so the people who lived in the valley seldom thought how the snakes had come down and driven it back in the old days. The very old people occasionally shook their heads, and said: ‘When Xyntli wakens she will have her own.’ But the young people didn’t listen, and followed the forest, building their curious houses fairly upon the slope of the mountain.